


You'll Never Guess What

by imthederpyfox



Series: Sanders sides - prompts [3]
Category: Cartoon Therapy, Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: AU, Angst, Confused Elliot, Drama, F/F, F/M, Funny, M/M, Mental Illness, Multi, Other, Pain, Recklessness, Romance, School, Self Harm, Violence, bad past, blood mention, eating dissorder, family related issues, mentally disturbed!virgil, patton is virgils dad, relationships, single dad, tags may need to be added to, therapy au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-07-04 18:28:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15846912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthederpyfox/pseuds/imthederpyfox
Summary: Dr. Picani had had his share of strange patients, heck he would admit he was quite an interesting character himself.But Virgil Thorne tended to take the cake when it came to how strange people could be.The doctor had been seeing Virgil for many years, out of all the people who came and went as their mental state improved, Virgil was still there. Emile Picani - while he loved his patient - was always reminded of his guilt and sadness whenever he saw the kid. After all, the doctors job was to make sure they didn't see the patient again... right?





	1. New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> This is something people on Tumblr seem to want to see a lot! So here it goes!

"Emile, you're not gonna fucking believe this-" Virgil spoke, rolling into his therapists office on rollerblades, a booster juice in hand and his hair completely unbrushed. "Who the fucks this?" He asked casualy, coming to a sudden stop just inside the door and taking a long sip from his drink as he stared at the new kid.  
"I can't discuss other patients with you, V, you know that." Dr. Picani smiled down at his book, not even looking up to the confused kid that sat in front of him.  
"I'm Virgil. Verge. V." The angsty kid nodded at the new kid, who looked between the doctor and the one who wore a strange patchwork purple hoody.  
"Uh... I'm Elliot."  
"Virgil, would you mind waiting outside while I finish up with my patient?" Picani asked, smiling at the teen who shrugged.  
"Guess I might be a bit early." And with that said, Virgil backed out of the room, still staring at the new kid.  
"I apologise, Elliot. You were saying about your sister?"  
\------------  
"Hey, Missy!" Virgil called, skating over and jumping up so he was sat on the reception desk, a grin on his face. The receptionist - a blonde woman in her late twenties - smiled back.  
"Hey there kid, how's it going this week?" She asked, looking back at her computer to sign him in.  
"Ah, ya know. Same old, same old." The teen replied, looking down at his phone which was open on Tumblr. "My dad's on my case, I got in trouble for going to the park the other day."  
"I'm sure your dad wouldn't have a go at you for no reason."  
"Eh, it was apparently like..." he shrugged. "One in the morning or something. He came by to pick me up and take me home."  
"Aren't you silly?" She smiled.  
"You know it! Hey did you get minesweeper working on that thing?" He leaned over the desk to look at her screen, before Picani's voice broke him from his antics.  
"Virgil, come on, it's time for your appointment!" The doctor called.  
The kid jumped down from his perch, rolling over to his elder casually, smirking at Elliot as he did so, earning a confused yet intrigued look as he rolled into the doctors office. Elliot smiled as Picani rolled his eyes with a smile and shut the door.  
"So, V. How you been?" Picani asked, sitting down.  
"Same as usual Cheech, average kid that no one understands." Virgil shrugged, laying upside down on the sofa with the stitch plushie in his arms. "Who's the kid?"  
Picani smiled, amused. "Nice Fairly Odd Parents reference! And I've told ya, Virgil, can't be talking about other patients."  
"Right, right." Virgil sighed.  
"So, got some new skates?"  
"Uh-huh. Found 'em at the thrift store." Virgil smirked, kicking his feet forward off the wall to show off his new skates. "Took a train to Ohio. They got some good stores."  
"Did you go with your dad?" Picani asked, looking from his notebook to the kid he'd been treating for years now. The kid had a lot of problems. A LOT.  
"Nah, see I was just thinking about the fact that Glee was set in Ohio right, and I thought, hey there's a train station nearby. Maybe I should go. And so I did. Dad was PIIIIIISSED." He laughed, turning back over so he could take a sip of his drink.  
"I bet he was! That's not exactly safe for you, V." Picani smiled. All he got was a shrug back. "So, how are you and your dad doing?"  
"I don't know, I don't really see him much. He's been stricter recently."  
"How come?"  
"I don't know, man, he says I'm being reckless. I just think I'm living ya know?"  
"I know, V. I know."  
\------------  
That night after Virgil had taken a few of the pills he had been prescribed by a different doctor than Picani, he was sat with his dad at the old dining table, the main light not on due to his sensory overload. They sat eating take away, Virgil picking at his own.  
"How was therapy?" Patton asked, smiling.  
Virgil shrugged.  
"I like that Picani, he seems really nice. It took too long for me to meet him."  
"Why don't you fuck him then?" Virgil replied casually.  
"Virgil! Language! That's not polite." Patton scolded, shaking his head slightly.  
"Do you think you will? Like that other dude?"  
"Virgil, for the last time, I didn't... 'have relations' with the last guy. We went on a date and you got arrested for exploring an abandoned building and I had to come pick you up."  
"That was the guy before. I mean the last guy."  
"I bought him home for a drink of coffee and you made sure he left five minutes into his stay." Patton sighed, tired from his day at work.  
"But you WANTED to fuck him." Virgil pointed his fork at his dad.  
"VIRGIL! STOP IT!" Patton shouted, promptly making the teen shut up. "I haven't dated anyone since then because I know you don't like that. And I would not just sleep around either... You know me better than that."  
"Do I?" Virgil asked, making and keeping eye contact with his father, who sighed softly and looked down for a second. His son looked away, up to the ceiling as he rested the back of his neck on the chair.  
"...Your mom's been gone twelve years, kiddo. I think it might be time we both move on-"  
Virgil stood, not looking at his dad, with his arms still folded over his chest and made his way upstairs. Patton sighed and finished his dinner. He grabbed the plates - noting how little Virgil had ate - and cleaned up before getting to work on the next chapter of his book, trying not to think about how much he felt he was failing his son.


	2. distraction

"Virge, have you tried NOT staying up all night looking at memes?" Picani smiled, looking across at his patient, a small smile playing a this lips. Virgil today donned the biggest coffee up that the therapist had ever seen, full to the brim of steaming coffee which the boy drank through a straw. His hair was dishevelled and his bag under his eyes must have been upgraded to luggage by now.  
He shrugged, staring at his hands. "Maybe."  
"You haven't have you?"  
"Of course not like... that's like saying to a dog that they shouldn't wait for treats, ya know?" Virgil answered, picking at the hems of his sleeves. Every so often an involuntary twitch would make its way through the boy, generally followed by him running a hand through his hair or playing with his lip ring.  
"Virgil." Picani spoke, smiling when the by looked up to him and saying with a laugh; "That is the dumbest thing i have EVER heard."  
They both cracked up and Virgil shrugged again, taking another sip of coffee.  
"Is there a reason you came today when you didn't have an appointment?" Picani continued, doodling on his paper, seen as Virgil would also draw during his sessions.  
"My cousin's round. Needed to escape the clutches of the dragon." Virgil answered, his features turning dark as if his cousin was indeed a real dragon.  
"Ok, so, back to the memes. How come you stayed up for the past few days looking at them? Tumblr must be a good place."  
"Most of the time." Virgil nodded, biting at his lip ring. "There's some idiots who ruin it for everyone else. Sometimes they'll use the app to post their agenda, try and get people on board with something that doesn't make any sense just so they can feel superior. Either way, I'm just there for the good shit."  
"Well, I think your first problem is that you do stay up too late looking at memes, so first things first, I think it's time to take a nap." Picani smirked and Virgil sighed, sipping on his coffee again. "And, I think it's important that when we're done here you can go home and maybe have a cry. Stop drinking in bathtubs fully clothed. And eat something that isn't bleach or memes."  
The rest of the session went by with Virgil staring a the ceiling, trying to nap. After that Virgil packed his stuff up and headed to the door, followed by the doctor. "You didn't have any appointments?" He asked, almost disbelieving.  
"Not for this past hour, Virge. Try not to cause too much trouble on your way back." He smirked and waited for Virgil to do his usual complex handshake.  
\------------  
"Hey, Panic! at the Everywhere!" His cousins voice broke through the silence he had managed to concoct while on the way home. "Where you going?"  
"To the mystical land of Narnia, theatre kid." Virgil replied bluntly, heading to the stairs.  
"Funny." Roman smirked, putting his arm between his cousin and the stairs. "Uncle Patton said to look after you while he's out with my dad."  
Virgil rolled his eyes. "I don't need 'looking after', Princey."  
"Well your dad says differently." At that they stared at each other for a moment, before Virgil went to dart upstairs, not wanting to get involved with his cousins antics right now. But Roman was quick and wrapped a large arm around the younger boys waist, easily lifting him up. Virgil froze for a second, his breathing halting to a screeching stop, before he began kicking, screaming, scratching, trying to get away from the suffocation, his cousin would hurt him, break him in half, something. Anything to get rid of him...  
"-irgil! VIRGIL!" The next thing he knew he was being held to the floor by his dad, Roman stood to one side, looking guilty and concerned but also slightly amused. His uncle stood nearby, a phone in hand ready to phone the hospital. "Shh... That's it. Calm down. What happened?" Patton's soothing voice came from above, though he still held the boy firmly in place.  
Virgil growled and in a few seconds, had managed to get his dad off of him and had run out of the door.  
\------------  
"Yeah, see you later, Picani." Elliot spoke, giving their therapist a slight wave as they exited the offices. They turned around, looking down at their phone as they headed down the pavement.  
"Good session?" An all too casual voice came from above and Elliot startled, quickly looking amongst the branches to see the strange kid they had met a few days ago.  
"Oh, uh... hi, Virgil right?"  
"Yah." Virgil answered. He stood casually amongst the branches, almost too stable to say trees were rickety places. "So, good session?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, we talked about Spongebob and stuff. You know how Picani can be." Elliot looked around. "Were you uh... waiting for me?"  
"Depends." Virgil shrugged, before jumping down in front of the other kid, staring into their eyes, not seeming to care about the eye contact. He was quite a bit taller than Elliot was and despite his actions being weird and somewhat creepy, Elliot found themselves to be somewhat drawn to who this person was.  
"U-uh, de-depends on what?" Elliot asked, snapping out of their trance. This kid was so weird...  
"I don't know." Virgil shrugged, smirking and Elliot had to look down at the floor for a moment. That smirk... "So-" Virgil continued, placing his arm over the smaller ones shoulders and leading them down the street. "Ever played Pokemon?"  
Elliot raised an eyebrow and they continued walking down the street, discussing different things and their therapist and how bad their families were.  
In all honesty, Elliot didn't really know what to think of Virgil. He darted his head or eyes around a lot, he had small twitches and tended to change subject way too often. He always seemed distracted, avoided certain questions by completely ignoring them and using a definitely not subtle change of subject. He fiddled with anything he could and would stop to watch a Caterpillar or stare at the floor for a moment. He swore way too much and used references Elliot had never heard of, he spoke of things as if he was confused but also knew exactly what was happening.  
It was as if his entire mind was in hundreds of places at once and hardly even there with Elliot.  
And you know what?

Elliot loved it.


	3. Dad

Patton Thorne was a man who struggled quite a lot. He liked his job, his house was fairly standard, and he had a son that he loved.   
So, what was the problem?   
Well, he tried his best, he went to work in the late morning, sometimes splurging to pick up a coffee on his way in. He sat behind his desk for a few hours, had lunch - that he'd packed for himself - would message Virgil to see how he was doing with his day, and then went back to work.   
By about six or seven PM he would get back in the car and head back home, ordering take out when he was about ten minutes away. He'd greet his son if the troubled teen was actually home and downstairs. He'd grab some wine and maybe put on the TV or browse through Grindr, waiting for the takeaway and for Virgil to come downstairs or come home from whatever shenanigans he was getting up to that day. If the boy hadn't replied at lunch this would be the time he'd phone his son, just to make sure he was ok, and when the take away got there he'd place his son's down on the table and sit down with his own before beginning to write on his computer and then heading to bed.

Today, wasn't exactly the best day...  
It was probably best to begin at the top. 

Sooooo, Patton had had a long night. Virgil had locked himself in his room for the night, and then when Patton had gone to try and sleep, he could hear the tell tale sound of Virgil's music turning off, the door opening and then quickly closing again. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and putting his glasses back on to get up and see what was happening this time. He headed down the corridor and knocked on his son's door, after getting no response he tried to pull down the handle, which was locked. He sighed yet again and jimmied the door a bit and opened the door to find the room empty and the window wide open.  
"Not again, Virgil..." He mumbled before walking over and looking out the window, the back gate was open which meant his son had decided to go on another of his late night wonders. 

Patton loved his son. He really did. But sometimes he had to wonder, what would it be like to be able to trust leaving your child home alone? To not be scared of them running away, or getting themselves hurt, or setting the house on fire. He knew he should trust Virgil, he really should. But the kid had no sense of consequences, he struggled with so much and Patton wouldn't have him any other way, but sometimes he wondered...

He grabbed his keys and pulled on his trousers and rushed downstairs to the car. It was always a guessing game of where exactly the teen would go, sometimes it was random, sometimes it was premeditated, sometimes it was somewhere from his childhood or memories and Patton would find his son crying and having a panic attack in the middle of nowhere.  
At times it had ended up being the police station, others he would be in another town, or state. Virgil had the perfect mix between charisma and not caring what happened to him, and that's what scared Patton. Because he could try and get a lift form some random stranger in the middle of the highway and could end up getting hurt or killed or anything. And Patton wouldn't know until it the police phoned him or it appeared on the news. 

He quickly set about roaming the streets, looking around at the shops and the parks, he drove by the lake and the fields. He was getting so worried and ready to phone the police, when he spotted a figure sat in the caged football fields. He sighed in relief and locked his car, heading over to the AstroTurf, slowing down as he got to the entrance. Virgil was sitting in the centre of the playing field, music blasting around him, staring up at the stars.   
Patton walked over, clearing his throat as he stood behind his son. 

Vigil slowly looked round and rolled his eyes. "Hey, daddy." He said, looking back up at the stars.   
Patton came over and placed his hand on his sons shoulder. "Come on, V, it's time to go home." he spoke softly, he didn't want to startle his son or begin an argument in the centre of the field. Virgil didn't respond more than continuing to stare up at the stars, his eyes tired and unfocusing. Patton softly wrapped his arms around his son, feeling how cold he was, having been out in only a shirt and shorts. He let Virgil pick himself up somewhat, but he had to do most of the lifting. Once he got his son into the car and strapped him in, he got called to one side by what appeared to be the maintenance of the football fields. He closed the car door, telling his son he'd be right back, and had a word with the maintenance man, and then drove them both home.   
Virgil didn't talk, or could barely walk himself inside. He simply let Patton give him his pills and a glass of water, and then got to bed. 

Knowing his son was back safe Patton could finally get some sleep ready for the next day.   
\------------  
Today he only had to be at work for a couple hours, seen as it was later in the week. It was a usual work day to be honest, though he was so tired from the night before that he had drank three coffees over the couple hours just to not fall asleep. After that he went to the train station, picking up his brother and his nephew, Logan and Roman.   
He took them back to the house, talking to Logan about his job and Roman about his theatre classes.  
When they got there Virgil wasn't there, he must have gone to therapy or to the shops. Logan suggested going shopping to take Patton's mind off of it, and they left Roman there when the teen said he'd be ok and would just watch some Disney films.   
\------------  
He and Logan had gone out for food, his brother had bought him some clothes and a few pieces for Virgil from Hot Topic, insisting that it was fine and that he was happy to do so, and they grabbed some coffees before heading back to the house a fair few hours later. Patton fell asleep on the way back, but woke up instantly when he heard a bloodcurdling yelling. He ran out of the car and inside the house without a second thought and within a moment had managed to calm his son down.  
Virgil had ran.  
A couple hours later Patton sat at the table, biting his nails.  
"Patton?" Logan spoke, stood next to him. "We are going to go to the hotel now, give Virgil a chance to calm down and come home, you know?"   
"Oh, yeah that'll probably help, thanks Logan." Patton smiled a tired smile and received hugs from his brother and his nephew, who soon left to head to the hotel, planning on coming back the next day.   
He pulled out his phone and saw that he had no messages, and ordered some take away.   
\------------  
He sat at the table, slowly munching on his takeaway from the container with a fork - Virgil always mocked him for not using chopsticks - staring at his son's untouched meal and empty chair. The sound of silence filled the room and Patton looked down at the battered old table, the wood peeling at the edges and it needed a new coat of lacquer. He didn't feel like writing tonight. He didn't feel like doing anything.   
He just continued to slowly make his way through his take away, looking at the empty spot where his son should be.  
It was just a little too dark, just a little too quiet. And all too lonely.

And he just wished his son was here. 

Because he didn't feel like anything when he wasn't.


	4. Feeling Strange

Virgil walked with Elliot for a while, eventually coming up to a fairly nice house.   
"Well, this is me." Elliot shrugged slightly.   
"Noice." Virgil smirked.   
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine?" Elliot asked, a confused smile coming over their face. Virgil nodded with a smile.   
"Son." A man came down the driveway towards them.   
"Oh no..." Elliot looked down as the man came over. "Hi, dad..."   
"Who's this?" Elliot's dad nodded to Virgil, who smirked.   
"Vance Bonvanerhorne!" Virgil grinned, hands in his pockets. "I'm a vampire hunter who is secretly part of the clan myself. 27, licence to carry firearms."  
"Virgil, please stop talking..." Elliot mumbled quickly, eyeing their dad who did not seem impressed. 

"Virgil? Unusual name." The man grumbled.   
"Thank you." Virgil nodded, smile not leaving his mouth. "Well, Elliot my friend, thank you for the help on the vampire case." He was already walking backwards. "I shall contact you if anything else comes up. Pleasure to meet you sir." He nodded at Elliot's dad and walked off.   
"Who the fuck was that?" Their dad turned to them. Elliot watched Virgil walking away, pausing at the wink the tall boy sent his way.   
"No one... just a friend from the clinic." They shrugged slightly, finally looking back at their dad. His unimpressed nature as always present on his face.   
"Well that makes sense." His father huffed, turning and walking back to the door. "Come on, son. Your mother has had dinner ready for a while."  
"Coming, dad..." Elliot mumbled, taking one last glance at the direction Virgil had gone in. 

\------------

"Hey, V, just thought I'd check up on where you're at." Patton spoke into his phone. "Call me back when you have a chance ok? Ok, I'll see you later... Bye..." He hung up the phone and sighed, placing it down on the counted as he continued doing the dishes. "That boy..." He mumbled to himself.   
The door clicked open not long later and Patton sighed in relief. It had been dark for quite a while now and a fair few hours since Logan and Roman had gone to the hotel. "Hey, Patton." Virgil said as he walked into the kitchen. 

"Hey, V. What you been up to?" Patton asked, a smile pulling on his lips.   
"Went to the therapists office and met up with a friend." Virgil shrugged, grabbing a bag of sweets out of the cupboard and getting to work separating the red and blue from the rest of them.  
"A friend?" Patton asked trying not to seem too surprised. "Do I know them?"   
"Nope." Was the simple response. "I'm going up to my room." He said, leaving the packet of sweets on the side except for the blue and red.   
"Ok, V, I'll be down here if you need me ok?" Patton asked, but Virgil was already out of the room. He sighed and finished off the last couple pots before drying his hands and getting back to work on his newest story. 

Virgil closed the door to his room and locked it, walking over to the dresser and looking at the mirror. He stuck his tongue out at himself, and looked down at his black eye shadow. He stared at it for a moment before dipping his fingers into it, staring at himself in the mirror as he raised them up to his cheeks and drew two lines. It was like he was going into battle. He frowned at himself and saluted before heading into the bathroom.   
"I'm not unusual..." He mumbled, sitting down in the bathtub. "Weird man..." He sighed and whistled a tune he couldn't place as he stared at his ceiling.   
He didn't know how long he lay there but soon he bought up his fingers to his neck. "Vampire hunter..." He whispered slowly to himself before he scratched deeply and agonisingly slow across the side of his neck. He could feel the blood and skin under his nails. He dropped his hand and looked across the room to the pills he had on his sink counter. He licked his lips and stared at them for a moment. 

Hoisting himself up he took the pills in his hand and spent a while staring at the little white tablets.   
"Will you help me...?" He whispered. "Save me? Make me... normal?"   
He scoffed and let them drop to the floor, spilling everywhere. He shrugged and headed back out into his room.   
He didn't know how he was feeling right now, but he didn't care. He sat down on his bed and pulled out a pen, beginning to write all over his arms and legs.   
"Maybe, I'll fly away." He mused. "Out the window..." He looked up at the closed window. "Too cold outside for that, my feathers would freeze." He told himself, shaking his head at his own silliness. "I bet Elliot would like Michigan..." He smiled. "Yeah... They would. Maybe we can go at some point."

"Virgil?" Patton knocked on the door and called through. "Night, kiddo."   
"Night, dad." Virgil called back and the hallway light went off.


End file.
